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New express bus route between Detroit and Ann Arbor shutting down over COVID-19 impact

The new express bus service connecting Detroit and Ann Arbor is the latest temporary casualty of the coronavirus outbreak.

The service, with stops in Detroit's Grand Circus Park and Ann Arbor's Blake Transit Center, will be suspended beginning Wednesday in response to the disease. It's not clear when the service, known as D2A2, will resume.

The announcement of service suspension ends a brief run for the route, which launched on March 16.

A news release said ridership "showed real promise" initially, but ridership dipped as businesses and other operations shut down.

A new hourly bus service, called D2A2, will connect Detroit and Ann Arbor beginning on March 16.(Photo: Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan.)

“We initially reduced service on March 30th in response to Gov. Whitmer’s executive order to stay home to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. However, after further review we’ve concluded that suspending this service until further notice is appropriate,” Matt Webb, general manager of the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan, said in the news release.

Webb said that the bus route has not been in service long enough to build a strong customer base.

Other transit lines have cut back service or shut down, too. Area public bus services — the Detroit Department of Transportation, Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation and Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority — have all reduced service, and the QLINE and Detroit People Mover have both stopped running.